The Silliness Bound Up in Being Human

January 10, 2013

The Morning Heresy is your daily digest of news and links relevant to the secular and skeptic communities.

CFI chief Ron Lindsay is asking for it. As he gets set to meet with the leaders of the other big groups of the skepto-atheosphere, Ron wants to know what you think about how best to address some of the latest controversies and concerns of the movement. I tried to stop him, but he never listens to me. Anyway, read his post and help him out.

Meanwhile Faheem Younus at WaPo, a medical doctor and a Muslim, tells of his often-obstructed attempts to bridge religious divides in providing free flu vaccinations:

The ruthless flu virus was not going to screen Americans for their faith before attacking. I gave the flu shots to the worshippers at Bait-ur-Rehman mosque located in Silver Spring, MD. Free of charge. Free of expectation. Free of faith.

Hopefully as people of all faith and no faith continue to work together to solve the problems of our world we will grow together in understanding and respect. While today I feel anger, I know that for us to have a future as a nation we need to come together across differences, recognizing that the arc of the universe really does bend towards justice.

Ohio public middle school's giant picture of J-to-the-C will stay up. From WSAZ:

Reaction from those in attendance [at a school board meeting] made it clear which side the majority was on, as those in favor of the picture remaining were applauded. Those in favor of it being removed were booed.

At the CFI On Campus blog, Julie Mankowski of the George Washington University Secular Society struggles with accepting an invitation to engage with a Dominican friars group at Catholic University.

Church-state-separation powers.....activate! Americans United, New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU join forces to stop an "education tax credit" that acts as a voucher that funds religious schools in New Hampshire.

NPR's Science Friday settles in court case against creationist crazytown radio show that stole its name.

You can own Bigfoot's grave, complete with helicopter pad. Because you see Bigfoot died in the Mount St. Helens eruption. I dunno.

Humor requires the ability to admit weakness and a willingness to laugh at it. A joke is funny because it exposes the silliness bound up in the act of being human. Self-deprecation makes for good comedy, but it’s akin to putting bullets in your opponent’s gun in a culture war. Weaknesses can’t be just hidden from one’s opponents; their very existence must be denied.

Linking to a story or webpage does not imply endorsement by Paul or CFI. Not every use of quotation marks is ironic or sarcastic, but it often is.

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Paul Fidalgo has been communications director of the Center for Inquiry since 2012. He holds a master’s degree in political management from George Washington University, and has worked previously for FairVote: The Center for Voting and Democracy and the Secular Coalition for America. Paul is also an actor and musician whose work includes five years performing with the American Shakespeare Center. He lives in Maine with his wife and kids. His blog at the Patheos network is iMortal, and he tweets at @paulfidalgo.